Cliff Top House

Today I found this house built in Chile by Alvaro Ramirez and Clarissa Elton. It is about 500 square feet and has an amazing view and emphasizes outdoor living through it opening window walls and a deck that is almost as big as the indoor space. It is heated with a wood burning stove, was built in 3 months and cost $15,000 USD to build. The house is divided into two sections divided by patio space, a sleeping area with bed and bathroom, then the other side is a living space with couches, kitchen and table.

Chile is a first world country; it is not third world. If you own the land in the U.S., it shouldn’t be a lot more, even in 2015 dollars. I could build this house for $15,000 easily…assuming you can get proper code to build it. That may be where it costs more. But Chile is not Ecuador or Nicaragua. It’s more like Canada or Spain, without all the red tape.

I think this design is the same or similar to one I saw in a DIY Japanese book. I don’t remember the exact title, but it was something like, “If you can afford a car, you can afford to build a house.” ideal isn’t it!